(Trinidad Guardian) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has dismissed claims by T&T-born rapper Nicki Minaj that 250,000 nationals were living with AIDS. Minaj made the claim during an interview with the UK Guardian last week Thursday. A statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday said it wanted to clarify Minaj’s statistics on HIV and AIDS in T&T.
The OPM said: “From 1983 through 2011, there have been 23,906 reported cases of HIV infections, of which 6,440 became AIDS cases. Reports revealed that the estimated number of people living with HIV and AIDS at the end of 2010 was 22,787 which represents a HIV prevalence rate of approximately 1.5 per cent.”
It added that the OPM, UNAIDS, other ministries and departments, and several non-governmental organisations were “working assiduously to ensure that the citizens of T&T are educated on safe sex practices and are sensitised on the issue of HIV/AIDS with a goal of reducing the stigma and discrimination experienced by those living with HIV/AIDS.”
Tourism Minister Stephen Cadiz told the T&T Guardian in an interview on Sunday that Minaj’s statement was “obviously erroneous and has to be corrected.” He said his ministry would soon embark on a public-relations campaign to correct her statement.